


neon nights

by BentOvrBckwrds1



Category: Voltron: Defenders of Tomorrow, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, I dunno what else to tag this, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, and a lot of neon aesthetic, and they have matching tattoos and stuff, basically just: adashi and klance are canon and everything is cyberpunk, but it's that one klance au where everythings cyberpunk, im a slut for neon aesthetic, thats all you need to know about the story honestly.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 12:28:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15751668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BentOvrBckwrds1/pseuds/BentOvrBckwrds1
Summary: Akira watches as Leandro nods his head to the beat, his curly hair bouncing against his forehead. His friend’s eyes close and he can tell the other man is really enjoying the music. Akira’s never heard this song but it’s obvious Leandro has as he mouths the lyrics and smiles to himself. His fingers bounce in a pattern on the dashboard and his left foot taps on the floor, lighting up his blue shoes.“This isn’t the way to the bar,” Akira comments lightly because, if he’s honest with himself, he doesn’t care where they’re going.“I thought we could take a detour,” Leandro says as he turns down another street and takes in his surroundings. Akira looks up and realizes where they are. It’s the Neon District.In which Leandro and Akira were just trying to have a fun night out but here they are, in a high-speed chase through the center of the city with Leandro acting like he's in an action anime and Akira being only mildly concerned for his friend's safety.





	neon nights

**Author's Note:**

> A super random and pretty late fic based on the AU created by @captainlumin and @kciths on twitter. I fell in love with these boys as soon as I laid eyes on them and needed to contribute something before this super cool concept inevitably dies out. 
> 
> There were a couple playlists I listened to while reading this which include (all on spotify):  
> leakira (the one with the VHS aesthetic city as the cover)  
> leakira rises  
> Leakira / defenders of tomorrow  
> N1GHTSH1FT A Leakira Playlist  
> intergalatic discotheque
> 
> Go read this with one of those playing and I promise you won't regret it.

“Yeah I’ll be back in a few hours, and no, I don’t need either of you to come pick me up,” Akira grins as he leaves the small apartment he shares with his adoptive fathers, Hachiko and Dante, “and for the record, I haven’t needed that since I was fifteen so you can stop asking.”

“It never hurts to!” Hachiko calls as the front door closes and Akira walks out to the building parking lot. He looks around and finds his motorbike, a red bike with a design full of lots of sharp points and edges. He appropriately named the bike the Red Lion and then spray-painted the words on the side. This had gotten him a stern talking to with Dante, though Hachiko later admitted that they both thought it looked pretty cool. 

The engine starts and Akira hops on, grabbing his goggles from around his neck and pulling them up to his eyes. There’s a roar from the motorcycle and he’s off, peeling out of the parking lot like there’s no tomorrow. His dark hair blows in his face and pushes it out of the way, wishing he’d tied a tighter ponytail. His midriff is exposed as his loose, cropped hoodie blows behind him in the wind. The tattoo of flames across his ribcage is exposed and the colors of the neon lights around him turn it different shades of pink and blue. The hood bounces against his shoulders in a nonsensical pattern and the wind blows down his back, making him quite cold. 

The neon lights of the city reflect on his goggles and it feels as if he’s under a million different lights. And that’s not even counting the stars that can barely be seen overhead. If he squints hard enough, Akira thinks he can make out a couple of the white lights in the sky, but it’s nothing compared to the lights on the ground. 

Akira grins as he drives, thinking about his destination. He planned to meet with his best friend and long-time crush, Leandro, at a local bar and get some drinks. The two hadn’t seen each other for a long time so he’d messaged the man, who’d responded immediately and suggested it was a great idea. 

The city is alive with nightlife and Akira wants to stop and look around, but knows he has somewhere to be. So, as he cruises between flashes of different colors, he looks up at the skyscrapers above him and wonders what the city would look like from all the way up there. He imagines it to be beautiful. The neon signs that seemed to be everywhere would lighten the whole city and he would be able to see everything around for miles. 

It wasn’t like Akira hadn’t ever left the city, in fact, he wasn’t even born on the same planet, but the last time he had had been for a mission with the underground resistance group Voltron. It had been successful but it had also been quick so it wasn’t like he’d had time to look around and see what life was like without a filter of fluorescent pink. 

Soon Akira is outside the bar and he looks around, wondering if he should go in yet or wait outside. He leans against the slick wall of the bar and presses one of his feet against it. His sneaker lights up red and it reflects off the wall. He can’t help but fiddle with his hair, brushing a strand behind his piercing-covered ear but then watching it return to its original place. 

“So you actually showed up?” He turns his head to the left, where the sarcastic and joking voice came from, and nearly collides it with Leandro’s. The other man has the same curly hair and cute blue turtleneck Akira remembers him having. He smirks and lets out a little laugh. 

“I’m more surprised that you made it on time.”

“That was one time! And it was like five years ago!” Leandro grins as the two walk into the bar and claim two seats near the back. Akira can’t help the blush that creeps up on his cheeks at the realization that of course he brought up something from that long ago. It felt like only yesterday when he was with Leandro but he’d never let him know that. He just looks at the floor instead and watches as his shoes glow red against the blue of Leandro’s. Their whole friend group had gotten matching glow-shoes months ago and he and Leandro were the only ones who still wore theirs. 

“We’ll take two of that daily special!” Leandro flags down a waitress and flashes her his signature smile to which she rolls her eyes and writes down the order. The smile would make Akira melt every time it was directed at him, but it was usually at unsuspecting girls instead.

He wouldn’t call himself jealous, but Akira wouldn’t mind if Leandro looked at him with that look only he could pull off. He’d wink and Akira would swear he could see his friend’s teeth sparkle. 

“You really need to dye those roots again man.” The words pull him out of his thoughts and Akira notices Leandro is staring at him. He instinctively grabs his goggles from around his neck and uses them to hide the white roots that had begun to grow at the base of his hair. “Wait no, don’t hide them! They’re adorable!” Leandro’s laugh could resurrect Akira, who pulls the goggles from his head and lets them hang back around his neck. 

Soon their drinks slide down the bar and they catch them, taking sips at the same time. Akira sneaks a look at Leandro and watches the other man take a deep swallow before meeting his eyes. 

“What? Did I forget to put in my earrings again or something?” Leandro touches his ears and mouths the numbers as he counts the amount of them that hang off his ears. When he gets to four he nods to himself and is completely distracted from the staring thing. Akira just looks back at his drink. 

“So what have you been up to? With Voltron and everything?” Akira asks the question quietly because Voltron isn’t something you just go around yelling about. It's supposed to be an underground operation of rebels fighting against the Galra who control the city, but it isn’t much of a secret. Almost everyone in the city knows someone who’s apart of Voltron and many fear it yet appreciate it too. 

“Lots of sniping missions. You never notice how many drones there are in the sky until you have to try and differentiate them from each other to take down the Galran ones,” Leandro makes finger guns and makes shooting motions with a few sound effects. Akira smiles at this, letting his fanged teeth show. “What about you?”

“Just more of the same stuff. The Blade division made me a new weapon though,” Akira’s eyes light up, “Wanna see it?”

“Hell yeah.” Leandro looks down at the little pocket knife Akira lays on the table. He frowns. “Is that it?”

“Nope.” Akira proudly presses a button on the weapon and it elongates into a broadsword. The dark blade reflects the neon lighting in the bar and it shines. He picks it up and holds it in a typical fight position to which Leandro’s eyes light up.

“Woah.” He grins, having clearly impressed Leandro now. He stuffs the weapon back into his hoodie pocket and feels it shrink back into a pocket knife. He’d have to thank the Blade’s technician when he got back. 

Leandro takes another sip of his drink and looks around, his eyes landing on two men walking into the bar. The neon lights of the room reflect on their skin, making them both look purple. He hadn’t even noticed the lighting until that moment, but he was more focused on the familiar faces. 

“Shit, Akira we gotta go.”

“What is it?” Akira, who’s drinking his specialty drink, looks up and spots the men too. A look of panic briefly crosses his scarred face. “Shit.”

The two Galran soldiers were probably off-duty but there’s no way they’d miss an opportunity to wipe out two of the most wanted underground rebels in the city, who just so happened to be getting drinks in the same bar.

“We’ll go out the back, okay?” Leandro turns to Akira with a worried look in his dark eyes. Akira nods reassuringly and the two stand in unison as Leandro lays some bills on the counter. They walk nonchalantly toward the back of the building, trying to talk normally. 

“Yeah that show was crazy, I can’t believe they killed the best relationship in the whole thing!” It sounds too loud and Akira cringes. Leandro keeps looking behind them and Akira grabs his jacket-covered wrist. It’s the one with a tattoo of a little red, purple, and blue heart on it. This seems to reassure his friend, who meets his eyes as the two approach the door. 

Akira opens the back door and Leandro moves to let his friend out first, backing into a shelf of empty bottles on the wall. Two of the bottles crash to the ground and it’s like it’s in slow-motion as Akira watches them fall to the ground and shatter to pieces, each reflecting the neon lights of the establishment. 

A few people look up at the sound, including one of the Galra men. His face flashes with recognition as he notices who was behind the noise. He stands and motions to his partner to do the same. The two rush towards the doors at the same as Akira yells, “Run for it Leandro, I’ll hold them off!” 

He pulls his broadsword out of his pocket, attracting a lot of attention, as Leandro yells something and grabs his free hand, pulling him out the door and down the back alley. 

“What are doing!” Akira yells as they take a sharp turn and he almost hits a wall. 

“Saving you, obviously!” Leandro yells back and they turn into a smaller alley, one where the sounds of their footsteps echo around them and their shoes light up the metallic walls. 

Akira should be thinking about how he and Leandro are going to make it out of this alive, but instead his mind only thinks of the fact that he’s holding the other man’s hand. He looks down and realizes that they were indeed locked together by their fingers. It’s not how he wanted this moment to go, but he takes what he can get. 

The moment is cut short though because they emerge into a busy street where Leandro’s bright blue convertible is parked. The car makes a clicking noise as Leandro hops into the driver’s seat and pulls Akira in beside him. The dashboard light a fluorescent blue and the two are off, engine roaring, down the busy street.

There are two things about the situation. One is good and one is bad. Akira thinks of them both as Leandro changes gears and the car swerves down the road. The good one is that the two are somehow still holding hands and Akira can feel how warm his friend is since they’re sitting so close together. The bad one is that the Galra were parked right next to them so they got to their car quickly and are currently on their tails. 

“Turn here!” The dark-haired man yells as the car swerves to the right. He looks behind him and sees that the Galra are still following. “Dammit! It didn’t work!” 

The car swerves between other vehicles and honks loudly, yelling for the other cars to move out of the way. It doesn’t work and soon the Galra are right behind them. The road in front of them is too crowded to get away and Leandro scans it for side alleys or back roads, but sees none. 

“Hey Akira,” Leandro starts, “Do you trust me?”

He looks into his friend’s eyes, which reflect the neon signs of the storefronts, and nods. He, for some unexplainable reason, really does trust him, or at least he does in that moment. 

“I’m gonna let go of the steering wheel and do something crazy, but I need you to be ready to take my place as driver, okay?” Leandro moves his long green jacket out of the way and pulls two guns out of their thigh holsters. 

“Okay.” Akira watches as Leandro lets go of the pedals and wheel and moves out of the seat. The car swerves slightly but he grabs the wheel and slides into the seat quickly, moving the car while watching Leandro behind him. 

The Cuban man kneels on the back of the car, aiming his guns at the Galran car. His coat blows behind him and he looks like he’s in an action movie. Akira grins as he hears the familiar sound of Leandro’s gun going off and the tires of the enemy vehicle deflating. 

The Galra, even though they’re getting farther away, return fire and begin to shoot in their direction. Lazers of a blinding white color shoot through the air, hitting other cars or their own. One explodes in front of them and they swerve out of the way. Leandro ducks on the back and has difficulty getting back up to take aim. 

“Shit Leandro! Get down in the seat!” Akira steers the car to avoid getting himself or his friend killed and they move into the opposite lane. There are some angry honks but they continue on their way. 

“I can’t hit ‘em!” He shouts as Leandro ducks to avoid another laser beam. He spins around to look at his friend, who’s trying to move. Akira notices a tattoo of the ocean that wraps around Leandro’s ankle and has to pull himself back to focusing on the road. 

“Hold on tight!” Akira notices an alleyway on the side of the road and spins into it, nearly knocking Leandro off the car. 

The blue vehicle does a complete 180-degree turn and they spin out of the alleyway, moving back in the direction they came. Leandro slides into the seat next to Akira and grins, “Nice job dude!” 

“I guess we are a good team!” Akira blushes and the car drives past the Galra as Leandro takes aim and suddenly the two aren’t a problem anymore. 

“Yes!” He stands up and cheers, slipping his guns back into their holsters and doing a victory dance. His hair flops behind him and the wind pulls his jacket into the air again. 

 

“Sit down I’m driving!” Akira is out of breath despite having ran what feels like ages ago. He pulls on Leandro’s coat and the boy plops into the empty seat. 

“Speaking of that, pull over.” 

Their victory lasts for a while as the car stops and Leandro pulls Akira into a hug. The other man isn’t ready for this and his eyes go wide, but soon he’s smiling and hugging him back. The two warm bodies hold each other for just a little while longer and as soon as it began, the hug ends. It seems as if it went on for just a little too long though because there’s a sudden awkwardness to the two. 

Neither wants to get out of the car so they both try to move and end up colliding. Akira tries to slide forward and hits Leandro in the leg, toppling them both. Leandro laughs at this and tries to move out of the way, but just creates more of a tangled mess. Akira stands up and looks around. 

“Watch out, I’ll come from the back,” Akira says as he climbs onto the back of the car and slides into the passenger seat once again. Leandro tumbles into the driver’s seat before starting the car again and pulling out of the alley.

“So where are we going?” Leandro asks as they smoothly merge into traffic and Akira thinks for a moment. He looks down at his neck and sees his goggles. 

“Let’s go back to the bar and get my motorcycle.”

“Alright, next stop is Akira’s motorcycle!” Leandro says as they take a sharp turn and Akira slides in his seat. The awkwardness disappears faster than Leandro can change radio stations.

The car comes to a stop in heavy traffic and the horns of other vehicles chorus around them. Leandro rolls his eyes and presses a button on the dashboard. Music begins to flood the car and he turns it up to drown out the city noise.

Akira watches as Leandro nods his head to the beat, his curly hair bouncing against his forehead. His friend’s eyes close and he can tell the other man is really enjoying the music. Akira’s never heard this song but it’s obvious Leandro has as he mouths the lyrics and smiles to himself. His fingers bounce in a pattern on the dashboard and his left foot taps on the floor, lighting up his blue shoes. 

The car begins to move again as the song blends into a different one with the same bass-heavy beat. The singer belts a few notes and then the instruments take over as Leandro turns into a new street in a different part of town. 

“This isn’t the way to the bar,” Akira comments lightly because, if he’s honest with himself, he doesn’t care where they’re going. 

“I thought we could take a detour,” Leandro says as he turns down another street and takes in his surroundings. Akira looks up and realizes where they are. It’s the Neon District.

It’s a part of the city where the lights are the brightest and the dreams are the biggest. It’s the most touristy area on the whole planet and it’s always packed. Akira has never actually been this far into it because of how busy it always is, but he is here now, with his crush next to him and loud music playing out of the blue convertible. It’s a surreal moment that makes him feel as if his mind is detached from his body, but in a good way.

Leandro is grinning now and makes a comment about how he’s never been in this part of town. Akira intends to respond but is at a loss of words and so he just looks around. The mix of blues and pinks and yellows flashing across his eyes is like nothing he’s ever seen. The sky above them is tinted with a bright pink and the colors seem to be stretching out into space. Every storefront has a sign or two or five, each glowing their own unique color and lighting up the night. Letters and numbers and words and windows seem to jump out from every direction and if Akira is honest, it’s a bit overwhelming, but in the best possible way. 

Akira’s eyes land on Leandro, who’s still watching the city in awe, and he smiles to himself. He notices the way the lights illuminate the other man’s freckles. He’s never noticed them before and now he sees how the dance over his friend’s face like stars. The lights now blur around them and the only thing in focus is Leandro. The music thumps but he can barely hear it anymore. It’s like the world is moving faster than they are. It’s the nicest feeling in the world.

Suddenly, Akira has an urge to kiss Leandro. He doesn’t know where it comes from and can’t tell how long it lasts, all he knows is that he wants too so, so badly. 

But he doesn’t.

He just watches as they begin to leave the Neon District and the lights fade into blackness. The music gets louder again and Leandro sings along freely now, nodding to the beat. He looks over at Akira with a smirk and winks. He knows the other man is watching him. 

“What?”

“Nothing,” Leandro laughs. He turns the car into an alley and turns off the engine. The music dies out and Akira gives him a weird look. 

“Why’d we stop?”

“Why not?” Leandro can think of a million reasons but doesn’t speak of any. Like, the reason that the purple neon strips along the side of the alley make Akira’s eyes shine, or the reason that Akira is distracting him from driving without even knowing it.

Leandro’s chest feels heavy and he wants to kiss Akira. He wants to run his fingers through his friend’s fluffy hair and wrap his arms around his neck. But he doesn’t.

His heart says yes but his mind tells him that they haven’t even known each other for that long and that Akira might be straight and that he didn’t want to go too fast. He moves to start the car again when Akira leans over and kisses him.

Everything changes in that moment. 

Eyes close and lips meet and the lights seem to get brighter. The two are suddenly star-crossed lovers, like the types who hook in in alleys like this on a weekly basis. They seem to forget their own identities for just one moment, the only important things being their breathing and bodies and how annoying it was to be in the car where motion was limited. Leandro’s long fingers trace the purple scar on Akira’s cheek and Akira runs his hands through Leandro’s curly hair. Their lips dance against each other in a sweet rhythm unlike any other. 

Leandro can’t help but smile as the kiss ends and they pull back, but only slightly. Their foreheads touch and they breathe heavily, still holding each other. He speaks first, “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Akira pulls away and a look of concern crosses his face, “Was that okay? I didn’t really ask and I know it probably caught you off-guard and-“

“It was perfect Akira.”

A second kiss begins and ends with a quick moment and the two spend way too long just smiling and breathing and staring into each other’s eyes. Their relationship seems to be like nothing else on this world or any of the others. It’s different and confusing and amazing and feels like a million fireworks going off all at once. 

Between kisses, Leandro starts the car and they begin to back out of the alley. Akira looks around at the lights one last time and then looks over to him. “Why’d we stop back there anyway?”

Without missing a beat, Leandro grins, “You were so beautiful it was distracting and I had to pull over.”

Akira grins and the two kiss again as they drive off into the night, sliding in among the neon lights and the stars in the sky and completing the perfect night.

**Author's Note:**

> I dunno what else to say here other than thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
